@rhyguyfye shot by @rickycohete
As the fashion industry continues to evolve, figures are moving from in front of the camera to shaping what happens behind it. Rhyan’s path reflects this transition. Discovered at just fifteen on a beach in Miami, his early years as a working model took him from New York and Atlanta to international markets including Milan, Paris, and India, building a career across print, commercial work, and runway.
Over time, that experience naturally expanded into mentorship and leadership. Today, as the CEO and Scouting Director of Emporio Models, alongside his best friend and business partner, Zach Elkhoudimi, the Founder and Agency Director. Rhyan focuses on developing new talent and guiding models through an industry he knows from the inside out. His perspective combines the discipline of modeling with a broader vision of what the next generation of talent can become.
In this conversation, he reflects on the lessons learned from his early years in the industry, the values he believes young models must develop beyond physical appearance, the cultural forces that shape fashion today, and the future he is building through Emporio Models.
01. Which early personal or cultural influences shaped the way you see yourself today in fashion?
I honestly didn’t have any education about fashion. However, once I got into fashion, the people I admire or admired were Lyndon Winchester, Corey Baptiste, RL Bond, Naomi Campbell, Jerris Madison Mogul, Tarrice Love, Gregory Prescott, Dorian Lowe, Tyra Banks, Steve Wimbley, Tyson Beckford, Ronald Epps, Earnest Williams, Alejandro Brito, and Andre Leon Talley.
02. Across your journey, who have been your key references in fashion, music, art, or culture that continue to define you as a creative?
I am a really huge fan of advertising and marketing, but not just the results, the reasons behind them. I’m fascinated by case-related marketing, impact journalism, music with universal meanings and emotions, and the overall harmony of art, culture, and current cultural and geopolitical climates.
I really loved how movies like Black Panther allowed the world to recognize how much power and influence a cast representing primarily one race or culture could have in bringing awareness to topics and conversations that had been aching for support.
I also love how events in the media can galvanize young people to act in ways that support the arts, music, and fashion, from tragedies like assassinations and wars to stories of triumph and peace.
So I really cannot point to just a few moments. There are far too many to list.
03. You move naturally between entrepreneurship and modeling. What moment first sparked this multidisciplinary path?
I had a friend who was in the same modeling agency as me. We used to work out every morning when I wasn’t booked. We would run from his model house to the gym, work out, shower, and walk back. He spoke English and I was American.
It’s amazing how close you can become when you speak the same language and understand similar cultural nuances.
One morning I went to his place and he wasn’t ready. He was crying. We had one of those conversations that open your eyes to the horrors of the entertainment industry. He asked me for help and I answered his call.
I was naïve to the world, but when you see the results of the viciousness that exist in this world you can only do one of two things: act or ignore. But you can never forget.
I chose to act, and I never looked back.
04. When discovering or developing new models, what qualities matter most to you beyond the physical?
Humility might be the most important quality when it comes to the success of a talent. But there are many weak and false definitions of humility.
One definition I heard that fits how I guide my talent within the Emporio Models family is: “Humility is I want to get it right, not I want to be right.”
05. From your perspective as a mentor, what truths do young models most need to understand when entering the industry?
You cannot do anything alone, and the world tells you lies.
Truth without love is brutality, and love without the truth is hypocrisy. Do not seek the people who are brutally honest. Do not seek the people who are nice. Seek the people who are fair, transparent, and firm.
These people understand that love needs action, trust needs proof, and a sincere apology needs changed behavior. The world tells you that if it feels good then it is right, but that is not true. If it feels right, then it is good. Even if that means you have to step up and become better.
If it doesn’t challenge your industry beliefs, then it probably isn’t right. The world tells you lies, find someone who will tell you the truths of this world.
06. As someone shaping new talent, what changes would you most like to see in the future of menswear and the modeling industry?
Modeling used to be about skills. These skills needed to be developed. Somewhere along the way, corrupt and lazy people made it about attention. Attention should not come before talent. Talent should come before attention.
When attention precedes talent, the fire that is success burns too fast, egos get inflated, and careers crumble.
But when talent is developed and attention follows, wisdom, which is skill, is created and the future is safeguarded. Because the fire that is success has a slow but infectious burn that sets everyone who pays attention to it ablaze.
07. What does masculinity mean to you today, and how has your understanding of it evolved through your work in fashion?
Masculinity means and will always mean “gentlemen.” But you see, a gentleman is not a look. A gentleman is a person who understands that “the stronger the man, the more gentle he can afford to be.”
A masculine man is someone who can protect, preside, provide, and prepare all whom he has stewardship over. But he is also someone who fosters care, belonging, confidence, and cultivates collective individuality within that same group.
Fear is the quickest motivator, but it is not the best nor the most sustainable. Love, however, is the most powerful tool we can use to evolve anything: a model, a family, or this fashion industry.
08. What are you most excited to explore next, whether in fashion, modeling, or your business ventures?
We just opened Emporio Models Morocco, located in Marrakech.
While it is not my first time being a booking agent, it is my first time being both an owner and a booking agent. We are excited to see the new relationships with photographers, clients, talent, and the community that we will be creating.
We would love to take 08010 Magazine on a tour of the agency once all the kinks are ironed out and we are ready to throw gasoline on the fire of success.
